Article: Elon Musk’s DOGE partner Vivek Ramaswamy says they’ll scrutinize $6.6 billion Biden loan to Tesla rival Rivian

[zefram47]

Quote from the Yahoo news article,

”
Coveted car plants
Ramaswamy’s calculation may be overly simplistic, however. Vehicle plants are often the most prized of all industrial manufacturing sites, not merely because they directly sustain thousands of families with well-paying blue-collar jobs.

Just as important, they sit at the apex of supply chains fed by entire economic sectors including steel, aluminum, electronics, chemicals, paints, plastics, rubber, leather, and upholstery and many others responsible for the thousands of parts built into every modern passenger car.”

Therefore, politically it may be quite difficult to “cancel” this loan
where it supports many blue collar workers

Exactly. If they're actually serious (which I doubt) about increasing American manufacturing capacity they really can't be against supporting a domestic auto plant's construction.

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[StarTrekNerd]

Exactly. If they're actually serious (which I doubt) about increasing American manufacturing capacity they really can't be against supporting a domestic auto plant's construction.

They (fiscally conservative Republicans, and the small number of blue dog Democrats) are against a loan that might be at risk of not being paid back. (Many more are also against "picking the winner", definitely the libertarian arm of Republicans)

I see a loan for Samsung far less risky than just one auto manufacturer, but only DOGE can tell us if it's a waste ?

 

[COdogman]

I'm not defending this new Department but what Tesla loan? Are you talking about the one 15 years ago that was paid off earlier than all other loans in that program?

Yes, that one. Why did they take it if government shouldn't be loaning money to businesses?

Also, "DOGE" is not a department. It takes an act of congress to create an official government department. This is 2 extremely annoying rich people trying to gain additional power and influence while inflicting pain on any of their perceived "enemies".

 

[StarTrekNerd]

Yes, that one. Why did they take it if government shouldn't be loaning money to businesses?

Also, "DOGE" is not a department. It takes an act of congress to create an official government department. This is 2 extremely annoying rich people trying to gain additional power and influence while inflicting pain on any of their perceived "enemies".

Tesla hasn't made a public comment, so you must take that up with Musk. Tesla is not Musk.

Besides 14 years ago Tesla was way smaller than Rivian today. The amount of money matters as well. The loan to Tesla from the DOE was 14 times smaller than this one. Even accounting for inflation the amount is vastly different.

I support Rivian but I don't support blanket loans to any and all Tesla competitors as a matter of political vengeance against Republicans. (And I'm a Democrat)

Biden has never treated Tesla correctly. GM the leader in EVs? ?

 

[COdogman]

Tesla hasn't made a public comment, so you must take that up with Musk. Tesla is not Musk.

Besides 14 years ago Tesla was way smaller than Rivian today. The amount of money matters as well. The loan to Tesla from the DOE was 14 times smaller than this one. Even accounting for inflation the amount is vastly different.

I support Rivian but I don't support blanket loans to any and all Tesla competitors as a matter of political vengeance against Republicans. (And I'm a Democrat)

Biden has never treated Tesla correctly. GM the leader in EVs? ?

Yeah, Musk has very little to do with Tesla

And if you are going to whine about things being "made up", you probably shouldn't end your post by "making up" that loans to GM, Samsung, and Rivian are "political vengeance".

 

[Wispitgood]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-doge-partner-vivek-131329979.html

So, Tesla can have DOE loans, but not any competitor? And worst then that, Teslas owner will have a control and say in who gets loans now?

 

[moosetags]

I think that Rivian's loan will be scrutinized and approved. It is definitely a good move to promote manufacturing within the United States.

I am not particularly a fan of Elon Musk, but he has been instrumental in EV development. If it were not for Tesla, EV adoption would be ten years behind where it is now.

I am an EV proponent, enthusiast, and a very early Rivian adopter. I am also a Republican and a retired federal government employee. I support DOGE and hope that it can accomplish its mission. I spent 31 years in a relatively small agency within the US Treasury Department (the most conservative of all Government Departments) and can testify from personal experience that our Federal Government throws away a lot of money on projects that have nothing to do with the mission of the agency.

Brian

 

[André]

Musk is damaging Tesla to a point it could evaporate a large portion of its shareholders value… Tesla needs an new Board of directors quickly.

 

[StarTrekNerd]

Yeah, Musk has very little to do with Tesla

And if you are going to whine about things being "made up", you probably shouldn't end your post by "making up" that loans to GM, Samsung, and Rivian are "political vengeance".

You didn't get my comment. That's on you.

 

[StarTrekNerd]

Musk is damaging Tesla to a point it could evaporate a large portion of its shareholders value… Tesla needs an new Board of directors quickly.

Yes I agree.

 

[COdogman]

You didn't get my comment. That's on you.

Your comment stands on it's own unless you would like to revise it.

Also don't tell other people what they "get". It comes across a little "DOGE-ey". If your comment wasn't taken as intended it couldn't possibly be your fault, could it?

 

[Sparkland]

No amount of money will save the chip makers, battery makers, or auto manufacturers at this point. $$$billions here and there, and everywhere.

 

[Yossarian]

In my view, the odds are very slim for this loan being in place before the new Administration comes to power. Given the magnitude of the loan, the language of any agreement will surely be very complex, and there is not nearly enough time between now and 20 January for the parties to negotiate the terms and conditions. If the GA plant is really needed, something that I think is far from assured, Rivian can hopefully put another deal together with the state of GA that will include financing, rather than simply tax relief. I'm not convinced that the plant will be needed until after 2028.

Frankly, I see very tough times ahead for any EV maker not named Tesia, and a decidedly non-zero chance that the policies of the incoming Administration will stifle EV sales to the point that will render the need for any expansion of EV manufacturing capacity by any auto maker moot. Again in my view, the already slowed pace of EV sales growth is likely to slow more, and to skew much more toward low and mid-cost vehicles. Tesla could be the beneficiary of this, assuming Elon can be at least temporarily disctracted from his focus on low cost EV taxis as the vehicle of the future.

In any event, Rivian is already planning for the early production of the R2 to happen in the expanded Normal plant. If should be easier and far less expensive to expand there again, rather than build in GA, in the unlikely event that increased capacity really turns out to be needed.

 

[StarTrekNerd]

Your comment stands on it's own unless you would like to revise it.

Also don't tell other people what they "get". It comes across a little "DOGE-ey". If your comment wasn't taken as intended it couldn't possibly be your fault, could it?

When your response to my comment was an insult what do you expect. Go troll elsewhere.

 

[jambaman84]

Yep lets make this a bigger issue than it is. This loan would create jobs for Americans and help a start up American company survive a little bit longer. But lets not bat an eye on the hundreds of billions of dollars our government sends to foreign countries year after year. Yep.. sounds about right.

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